Guest Blog: Highlight from Ndutu Calving Safari

The images you capture whilst on safari will continue to bring back memories for many more years to come.

The will invite back in to your heart the heat of the day, smell of the field and the sounds of the bush, allowing you the opportunity to vividly relive your safari experiences.

I asked the guests who joined me on our recent Wild Eye Great Migration Calving Safari to the Serengeti, to share some of their favourite safari moments with you.

Without further ado, here they are…

Jashika Patel

“I’ve been trying to think of a word that describes Ndutu and my Calving Safari experience and the one word that I keep coming back to is “surprise”. Perhaps it was the first sight and smell of the ever-green forest as we made our way to camp from the airport or the diverse landscape of woodland, vast plains and lakes we explored each day. This really surprised me and my eyes felt rich and I felt blessed every single minute. We had some incredible goose-bump moments and the pictures do far more justice than my words ever will. Marlon was a fantastic guide – soo patient and knowledgeable and I loved learning to look at the Serengeti through a different lens. A bucket-list destination for sure and one that I hope to be privileged enough to visit again one day!”

Gerhard Uys

Kim Uys

Sherry McKelvie

Every day gave us amazing sightings and intimate animal encounters far beyond my expectations. The highlight for me has to be the beautiful male leopard in a tree with his kill, seen in the evening and then again the following morning when we had the added excitement of two lionesses approaching the tree, smelling the kill, but failing to see the leopard on a branch right above them!

A top ‘unforgettable moment’ was sitting in our vehicle watching a rather tatty but lovely male elephant gradually getting closer to us to see who we were, while Marlon shared his knowledge with us on elephant behavior. Very special.

Then there were the cheetahs – we saw around 19 altogether, mainly females with cubs of varying ages from several months down to just a few weeks old. On our last evening, we found a female with 3 very small cubs who still looked like little honey-badgers with their pale fluffy topcoats – so captivating and some great photo opportunities against the evening sun.

Add to these an amazing Verreaux Eagle-Owl having a drink and cooling off in a puddle, ghostly shapes in the marsh gradually transforming into a group of buffalo, lots of lazy lions (apart from one amorous couple), various antelopes and of course lots and lots and lots of zebra and wildebeest, all with calves and foals from just a day or two old. Then there was a ‘bucket-list’ visit to the Ngorongoro crater (wow!) and a multitude of wonderful birds to see. We even spent a while one afternoon watching a group of vultures gorging themselves on a wildebeest carcass – their behavior was hilarious and had us all giggling!

Above all, Marlon was the ‘topping’ that made it all extra-special. From sharing his valuable photography experience and helping each of us to improve our skills, to giving us a deeper insight into, and appreciation of, the wildlife around us, and in making sure that each guest was comfortable – his knowledge and sheer enthusiasm made the trip a ‘once in a lifetime’ for me. Thank-you Wild-Eye!”

We had some great moments in between as well, and thanks to my awesome guests and their quick fingers they were able to capture some great moments behind-the-scenes…

Thank you so much to these incredible people for joining us on this amazing photographic safari! As you can see by these images, Ndutu is a mecca for wildlife!

A safari should be about great moments, and capturing that for the world to see. This is exactly what we did on this amazing safari in the Serengeti.

Please have a look at my own highlights blog of this memorable safari experience, sure you will take great pleasure from it.

Till next time,

Join us in 2016

Details on our 2016 Great Migration Calving Safari will launch in 2 weeks. Find out more ahead of the rush.

About the Author

Marlon duToit

Passion, enthusiasm and an unquenchable thirst to explore and introduce you to our natural world’s wildlife perfectly sums up my ambitions. I can’t imagine myself doing anything else.
Through my African adventures I kept my photographic passion alive. Behind a camera aimed at a lion or a leopard is where I am most at home, my heart skipping a beat at the mere thought of it.
My intention has never been solely for recognition but for the plight of what’s left of our natural recourses. Using my love and understanding of wildlife I am able to convey to the viewer more than an image or a fleeting moment. I aim to tell a story, to bring that moment alive to you and to capture your heart through it.

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